Michael Clarke and Simon Katich have confirmed that they were involved in a dressing-room altercation after the Sydney Test against South Africa, but said they had moved on from the incident. The Daily Telegraph reported that the players argued over the singing of the team song, Beneath the Southern Cross, and had to be pulled apart by team-mates.
Clarke reportedly wanted it to be completed early so he could leave for a family function. "Yes, we had a disagreement after the Sydney Test," Clarke told the paper. "This kind of thing occasionally happens in cricket teams.
"We didn't see eye to eye on that night, but we have been team-mates at New South Wales and Australia a long time. We've spoken since, including catching up the other night at the Allan Border Medal. There's no issue between us."
Katich agreed with Clarke. "I've spoken to Michael as recently as today and we're both big enough and old enough to have moved on from this," Katich said. "Michael and I are focused on some tough Test cricket that's coming up for Australia against South Africa in a couple of weeks."
The Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said the organisation had no concerns about the incident. "Yeah there was a blue," he told AAP. "It happened after the last day of the Sydney Test and those guys have since made up and moved on.
"From our point of view as far as we are concerned it is an issue between two individuals and they have resolved it and moved on. These things happen in even the best of families from time to time, but everyone gets over it and moves on."